The hop farm of Joris Cambie

The hop is by nature a climbing plant. The hop plants need to be trained to grow up strings or wires which support the plants and allow them significantly greater sunlight exposure as well as growth than if they were left to grow along the ground.

Male and female flowers of the hop plant develop on separate plants; it is important to note that only the female plants are grown in hopfields to prevent pollination and preserve the integrity of the hop for brewing and other uses.

On his farm's 12 hectares Joris grows a mix of aroma and high alpha hops. The cultivars include the English varieties Goldings, WGV, Pilgrim, Fuggle, Phoenix, Challenger and the American variety Cascade.